A Baby Bump In The Road
by Lily Hanson
Summary: Follows Serrator's Plan - The Samurai have a pregnancy on their hands, they just don't know it. How long will Emily be able to hide the pregnancy? What does she think will happen when the Samurai find out?
1. Emotions Run High

Disclaimer: I do not own Power Rangers: (Super) Samurai. This is purely fan-made.

It wasn't the most pleasant sound he had ever woken up to. In fact, it was one of the more disgusting ones. With a loud sigh, James pulled himself out of bed, walked to the bathroom door and closed it. Emily was inside the bathroom, vomiting into the toilet again. He heard she had been sick all day the day before, and now she was sick again this morning. He hoped it was nothing serious.

Terran was already awake and sitting in his crib, trying to figure out what the sound was and looking a little worried. Serena was in the bathroom with Emily. Terran, since his mother had come home, had been very clingy. He wanted her attention; he wanted her all to himself. Knowing she was awake and not with him made him worry.

"Mommy's fine," James reassured the little boy as he lifted him from his crib, "We just can't compete with vomiting little sister."

A strange odour reached James' nose and he groaned, "Terran, pooping your pants will chase mommy away. We need to get you potty trained."

James tickled Terran's stomach, causing the boy to laugh and temporarily forget about his mother. James smiled. Feeding him breakfast would be much easier now. Of course, he still had to change Terran's diaper.

He decided he would do so in the common room. The smell of vomit, on its own, was retching, and the smell of one of Terran's full diapers was sometimes worst. It would be torture to combine the two smells in one room. He got to the common room and laid out the mat to change Terran. As he did this, he heard grunts from the dojo, and then something smashed. James chuckled and shook his head. It was a typical morning in the Shiba House, and he was glad for it.

Terran's diaper change went without incident, and as James pulled his pants back up, he heard someone walking into the common room. He looked over and saw it was Mike, with a plate of breakfast Kate had made. James knew there was a plate waiting for him, but after waking up to the sound of Emily vomiting and changing Terran's diaper, he wasn't too hungry.

"Sup," Mike nodded his head casually. James set Terran down in a circle of his toys and looked to the green Ranger.

"Emily slept in our bed last night."

"I figured she'd go to Serena or Mia," Mike sighed. James took a seat on the stool, where he could look at Mike and keep his eye on Terran.

"What did you do?"

"Nothing," Mike shook his head. He and Emily had gotten into a fight. As a result of finding out they were expecting a child; Mike and Emily found themselves at odds. Naturally, Mike wanted to protect his family as much as he could, and knowing the dangers that lurked outside the gates of the Shiba House, especially for a Ranger, Mike wanted Emily to step down from her role as yellow Ranger. Emily seemed to disagree, insisting she could still be a Ranger and she could fight carefully. Though Mike tried his best to control his temper and be sensitive to Emily's side of the argument, there was no reasoning with her. Their fights either ended with her kicking him out, or her walking away.

It was a difficult time for both of them, and the fact that they already couldn't agree on how to take care of their child was making everything worse.

The pregnancy was also a secret. Emily didn't want to tell the others when they had initially found out because she wanted them to focus on getting Serena home, which Mike had agreed needed to be a priority. Emily had promised to do nothing too dangerous, and Mike had come up with a plan that would keep her as safe as possible without raising suspicion from the others. Now, though, Serena was back home and slowly getting back into the routine of being safe and sound with her friends and family, and Emily still refused to tell the others about the pregnancy. Mike, knowing it was best not to push her buttons, wouldn't spill until she was ready, but wanted to convince her sharing the news would be best.

In his eyes, it was the best solution. He would do everything for his wife and future child, but he knew he couldn't be everywhere all the time. If everyone else knew about pregnancy, that made nine pairs of eyes watching Emily. It still wasn't perfect (perfect would be putting Emily in a bubble for nine months), but it was the best solution.

Mike also knew the others would all take his side. Kevin, without knowing it, already agreed with Mike. If Emily was pregnant, she needed to stand down.

Emily didn't like hearing that. For some reason, the thought of being benched angered and frustrated her. Mike had thought that though she didn't like the thought of watching her friends run off while she sat on the sidelines, she would do what she could to protect herself and her unborn child. Emily, instead, insisted she would fight at least until she started to show. She insisted she needed to help the Rangers defeat Xandred.

Their stressful situation and their refusal to agree meant anytime they met they would end up fighting. Mike figured some time away would be best and he would avoid Emily for today, hoping it would help her clear her head and she could see why it was so important she take a backseat.

"Mike," James shook his head, "Emily doesn't come to sleep in our bed, crying about a broken heart, for nothing."

"It's nothing that concerns you," Mike shrugged his shoulders. "Leave it alone, James. It's our business."

"I'm just trying to help."

"I didn't ask for your help," Mike was getting quickly agitated. He grabbed his plate and decided to eat in his room. Somehow, he was going to end up looking like the bad guy in this mess. If they only knew, he was sure they would take his side, but for now they all seemed to have Emily's best interest at heart. Not that he minded, but it was a real pain when they assumed Emily's best interest didn't include him.

James watched Mike leave with a groan and wondered why a day in the Shiba House couldn't stay normal.

-Samurai-

"You're saying you've been to the doctor?" Serena asked as she sat by the toilet, now just watching as Emily spilled her guts. Emily nodded her head.

"He said it was nothing and that it'll pass. I just have to wait…"

"It out?" Serena finished as Emily threw up again. She sighed, "He couldn't have said it was nothing. Is it just the flu? A stomach virus? Did he give you antibiotics?"

"It's fine, Serena. I'll be okay…"

Serena reached over and put her hand on her sister's forehead, "You don't have a fever. Is there something you're not telling me?"

"What wouldn't I tell you?" Emily asked. Deciding she was done, she flushed the toilet and went to clean herself up.

"I don't know, Em, but if this is some revenge for when I was sick, it's not funny."

"It's not revenge. I must have just eaten something…"

"I thought you went to the doctor."

"I did."

"But you're still just guessing what it could be?" Serena asked. "How would the doctor know it's nothing if you're still guessing what's making you throw up?"

Emily groaned, "You know, this lack of trust between us really isn't a good thing."

"Trust needs to be earned, Emily."

"And I haven't earned it, yet?" Emily asked, "Serena, I'm out there breaking my neck every day because you're the one who decided to keep secrets, remember? I wouldn't be here if it weren't for you. You owe me, now, and you can pay me back by shutting up!" she shouted loudly and regretted it almost instantly. She had lost her patience for a moment and now it looked like she had lost her sister. Serena was horrified, looking to Emily like a startled baby deer in the headlights. Before Emily could apologize, Serena jumped up to her feet and ran off.

"Dammit!" Emily shouted and punched the sink before she dropped to the floor and hugged her knees to her chest. With her and Mike fighting, Serena was the only person Emily felt she could lean on with the pregnancy, knowing Serena had experience. Now she had just chased her away. She buried her face in her arms and sobbed.


	2. Trembling, Screaming, Leaving, Punching

James was still in the common room with Terran, and the others were sitting around the table eating their breakfast. Everyone except for Serena, Mike, and Emily, that is. James had his plate of food on the table and would pick at it while he played with Terran. With his son, he was counting and naming the colours of the different blocks. It was never too early to teach the young boy his colours and his numbers.

Terran preferred to smash and toss the blocks around. He would be a destructive boy, James could tell.

Just as he was showing Terran the blue block, hoping to get the boy's attention, Serena whipped by the room and rushed out of the house. With Serrator still on the loose, neither James nor the rest of the team wanted her leaving the yard at all, and all of them jumped up and raced after her. James limped slightly, still recovering from his injuries, but he ran the fastest and managed to grab Serena's arm just before she got to the shield.

"Where the hell are you going?" he shouted at her and she crumbled, falling to the ground completely limp. James wasn't yet strong enough to hold her up was forced to drop her, but he then fell to his knees beside her and pulled her in his arms. She was upset. Something had upset her.

"Go find Emily," James barked orders to the Samurai. It wasn't normally his place, but Serena was supposed to be with her sister, not running off in terror and upset. If she was upset, James was worried it had something to do with Emily. She had been sick and refused to share what exactly was causing her to throw up. James hoped she hadn't let it get too far.

Mia, naturally, was the first to run inside and was followed closely by Kate. The boys stuck close to James and Serena and knelt next to them.

James hugged Serena a little closer to comfort her, "What happened?"

Silence from Serena. James could feel her tears soaking through his shirt, but not even a sob escaped her lips. James gently stroked her hair.

"Serena, whatever it is, you can tell me. We'll deal with it together."

"We'll all deal with it together," Jayden assured her.

"Is Emily okay?" James asked and he got a confusing response. At first Serena nodded her head, and then she shook it, as if changing her mind. James pushed her back gently to try and get her to look at him. She looked at the ground. He lifted her chin. Her eyes still refused to focus on him. He shook his head, "Don't do this, Serena. You're okay here. You're safe. You know I love you. You know I care about you."

"We all care," Antonio shifted closer to Serena and James and he put his hand on Serena's back, "We're not going to hurt you."

Serena shook her head and leaned into James. Her eyes were screwed shut and James could feel she was trembling. She had told him about these moments, these waking nightmares she had of her moments with Serrator. With his help, she had gotten them to calm down, but now they were back and they were hurting her again. He released his arms from around her and gestured to Antonio to take her.

"Keep her safe," he told the gold Ranger. Antonio nodded his head, took Serena in his arms and held her close. James got up and gestured for the other Samurai to follow him. They walked to the other side of the yard and gathered in a little circle to talk.

"What do you think got her?" Kevin asked. "She's not normally like this."

"It's Serrator. He controlled her. He had all that power, and he used it to hurt her."

"So?" Jayden frowned, "He's a Nighlok, of course he's going to do that."

"Something happened," James sighed, "She's scared of getting hurt."

"We're her friends, we're not going to hurt her," Kevin shook his head. Ji stroked his chin.

"James might be onto something."

"What do you think happened, then," Kevin asked James. The former coach shrugged his shoulders.

"Last I saw her, she was with Emily. As far as I know she was…"

"With Emily?" Kevin started to laugh, "James, I know the kid scares you, but you can't seriously be saying Emily terrified Serena like Serrator did."

"She's fragile right now…"

"This is crazy," Jayden shook his head, "I'm with Kevin. One of us may have been able to scare her, but Emily?"

"If Serena's scared of Emily, we have a serious problem," Ji said, "However, it would be understandable. For nearly a week, Serena was doing her best to survive by living a life that was out of her control. We've already agreed that if Serrator could convince her to harm Emily willingly, things had to be bad. It's hard to believe, but it is believable Emily could have done this."

"I'm not saying Emily did this on purpose," James looked to Jayden and Kevin, "but I think it's obvious now there's a really big problem in the house."

Kevin groaned and rolled his eyes, "Mike did talk to me last night. He said he and Emily were fighting."

"Emily was in our bed last night because of the fighting," James nodded.

"Would it be fair to say this all falls on them?" Ji asked, "And perhaps something led Emily to snap at Serena?"

"That's a lot more believable," Jayden nodded his head, "Only now we have to figure out what made Emily snap and what's going on between Mike and Emily."

-Samurai-

The Shiba House was big, but there weren't many places to hide anymore. Kate and Mia knew Emily had been with Serena, and they knew Emily had spent the morning throwing up after spending the night in Serena's room. Just as they expected, they found her in Serena and James' bathroom.

What they didn't expect was for Emily to be sobbing. Mia rushed over and held the yellow Rangers in her arms warmly. Kate stood by the door. She still felt guilty for what she had done to Emily, carving Serrator's name into her shoulder, and didn't want to get too close. Kate knew Emily had forgiven her, but it was a matter of forgiving herself.

When Emily saw she had company she threw herself into Mia's arms and sobbed into her shoulder, "I screwed up!"

"Tell me," Mia asked. Emily shook her head. She couldn't talk to Mia. She would get a lecture. She would be forced to sit out all fights. She would be forced to hear how careless and stupid she was, and how, only weeks into a pregnancy, she was a terrible mother, a terrible wife, and a terrible friend. Sitting out, being benched, especially when the Nighlok were this powerful, meant letting her friends run into battle, and standing by as they took every hit, every blast, and everything else the Nighlok could throw their way. It meant watching as her husband, her sister, and her best friends sacrificed their lives. Knowing she could help them, knowing she could make the load a little easier to bear, but choosing to sit out anyways was unfathomable, but if they knew, they would make her stay in the house.

At the same time, she didn't want any danger to come to her child. She wanted to fight, she wanted to finish what she had started and defeat Xandred as the yellow Ranger, but if something happened to her unborn child, and it was something that could have been prevented, like avoiding battles all together, she would never forgive herself. She was conflicted over her choices, and both seemed to have bad endings, and she was conflicted with Mike. He wanted the same thing she wanted – for their child to be safe – but he wouldn't listen to her other argument. He didn't understand how difficult it would be for her to sit back. If something happened to her friends, or even to him, and she sat around and watched from the safety and comfort of the Shiba House, she would never forgive herself.

No matter which way she looked at it, she was doing wrong, someone was going to get hurt, and she would have to live with the guilt forever.

She couldn't share her pain with anyone. Mike was siding with her and against her, but mostly against her, and given what he had said about his talk with Kevin, the blue Ranger was against her as well. Mia and Kevin had been known to have their differences about these matters, but Emily knew this was something they would agree on. Mia would bench her, and if Emily refused, Mia would tie her down to a bench anytime the Gap Sensor went off.

Jayden would also side against her. He hated the thought of consenting adults fighting alongside him. There was no way he would ever allow an unborn child on the battlefield. He would bench her, and if she refused, he'd take her Samuraizer and kick her off the team. If she still refused, he would send her home where she would have to deal with her parents (and she was terrified of their reaction, given what had happened with Serena. She knew, despite the fact that she was married, she was still young, barely out of her own childhood).

Antonio would follow Jayden. He'd insist she stay home, no matter how serious a fight looked. He would side against her.

She couldn't imagine what Ji's reaction would be but assumed it would be similar to Jayden's, with a strong, angry lecture about her duties and responsibilities to her family and her team.

Kate was the least of Emily's worries, but at the same time, Emily knew Kate wouldn't take her side. She would also force Emily to sit on the bench.

But none of them understood how hard that would be. Those with a Samuraizer couldn't understand what it was like to be able to fight but to sit back and watch it happen. When they had been benched, they had been because of injuries – because fighting in a battle was way too big a risk for them and the other Samurai. Those who normally sat out didn't have a Samuraizer in hand, nor did they have the power to become Samurai Rangers. Even still, they had their jobs at home which were just as important.

Emily couldn't bear the thought of losing one of her friends because they were down in numbers because of her, and she couldn't bear the thought of losing her child, who trusted her for safety. The only person she thought who could help her with this problem was Serena, but she had just chased her away by yelling at her and losing her temper.

Mia gave her a squeeze, "Emily, please. I need you to talk to me."

"I… can't…" Emily sniffed and sobbed and clung on tight to her pink sister, shaking her head from side to side to reinforce her point. She couldn't talk to anyone. They would hate her. They should hate her.

"Is it Mike? Did he do something?"

Emily shook her head again, "Mike's fine."

"Emily…"

"I don't want to talk about it!" Emily screamed and she pulled away from Mia. She couldn't stay here. She couldn't calm down and she knew the Samurai, Mia especially, wouldn't rest until she got the truth out of her. She couldn't go back home. Not only was it too far, but there was no way in hell she was telling her parents of the pregnancy when she had no idea if she had a team to fall back on, just in case her parents disowned her like her mother had disowned Serena. She couldn't be alone on the streets.

She couldn't leave, but she couldn't stay. She really, really couldn't stay. She pushed Mia away and darted out of the bathroom, avoiding Kate who reached out to try and stop her.

"Emily!" Mia called and raced after the yellow Ranger. She grabbed her arm and held her tight, stopping her from leaving. She knew Emily had a habit of running off when things got really stressful and hard for her.

"I want to be alone!" Emily screamed and tried to pry Mia's hand from her arm, "Let me go!"

"You can't be alone, Emily," Mia shook her head, "Serrator wanted you or Serena. If he sees you…"

"Let me go!" Emily screamed again and ripped her arm free. Then she bolted from the house.

"Go after her. Make sure, wherever she goes, she gets there safely," Mia ordered Kate, confident the older woman would be strong enough to keep the yellow Ranger safe. It was her duty as guardian of the earth clan. Kate nodded her head and raced out after Emily, running so fast to keep her niece in sight, she didn't have time to explain to the boys what was happening as she passed them in the yard (not that she really knew).

Mia groaned and paced around Serena and James' bedroom for a minute in an attempt to calm down, but it failed. Instead, she stormed out of the room and stomped through the house. She made it to the common room, where Mike was playing with Terran. He had somehow figured out everyone else had left the young boy alone and took it to himself to keep his eyes on the mini troublemaker.

Mia saw red like never before. It was a deep, dark shade of red. Serena was terrified, Emily was hysterical, and it all fell on Mike's shoulders. Emily and Mike had been fighting, and now he wasn't even around to help deal with whatever was bothering Emily.

"Put the kid down," Mia growled, causing Mike to look up in worry. He heard a tone from her that he had never heard before. It was dangerous.

"Mia…"

"Put the kid down."

Against his better judgement, Mike moved Terran from his lap to the floor and backed away. It was then Mia charged at him and rammed him into the wall. That was all he remembered before blacking out.

When he woke up again, he was in his bed and his head was pounding. He touched his head, feeling a bandage had been wrapped around it.

"From the ring," he heard Antonio's voice and turned to see the gold Ranger sitting by his bed, "Mia's engagement ring left a pretty mark in your head, and considering she's right handed, that's saying a lot."

"What happened?"

"Terran's scarred for life, Serena's curled up into a little quivering ball, Emily's gone, Kate's gone with her, James is in charge, Ji's shaking his head and wondering where everything went wrong, and Jayden and Kevin were last seen wrestling with Mia. They might be dead now. I'm not actually sure."

"Emily's gone?"

"Not really gone. Kate called about five minutes ago to say she was on her way home, and she left Emily with that Spike kid, remember him? She'll be there for a few days. Once Jayden and Kevin finish with Mia, if they haven't already or aren't dead, they'll go protect Spike's house with symbols so Serrator can't get to Emily or them."

"Smart plan," Mike rubbed his head, "Now what happened to me?"

"Well, going by Mia's side of the story, you're a selfish, insensitive bastard, asshole who deserves to drown in a pool of your own blood – to summarize."

"Summarize?"

"Well, she is pretty pissed."

Mike rolled his eyes. "It's all my fault, isn't it?"

"Not necessarily," Antonio shook his head, "Ji's punishing Mia. She's locked away in her empty room until further notice. Kevin and Jayden are trying to get her in the room. She's putting up a fight."

Suddenly there was a loud thump against the wall. Antonio shrugged, "Mia's not happy about it. I've never seen her like this. It's unsettling."

"It's not a fun punishment," Mike nodded and then groaned as his head pounded, uselessly reminding him just how sore it was, like Mike could forget. "Mia deserves it though. Ow!"

"What month is it?"

"September," Mike looked to Antonio with a smirk, "My head's hard. Don't worry about me."

"One more question," Antonio insisted, "just to make sure everything's okay."

"Sure."

"What's going on between you and Emily?"


	3. Credit Where Credit Is Due

Kate returned to the Shiba House to find the place was a complete disaster. Jayden and Kevin had already left to go put up a barrier around Spike's home for Emily's safety and she had bumped into them on their way out. They had warned her that under no circumstance was she allowed to open the door to Mia and Kevin's bedroom. Kate couldn't imagine why, but their serious tone and tired looks promised she didn't want to find out.

As a result of Kevin and Mia's bedroom being off limits, a bed had been set up in the dojo, and all of Kevin and Mia's things had been moved there as well, except for Mia. At this time of night, Mia was normally in her room relaxing before bed and Kate assumed that with all Mia's stuff in the dojo, she would have migrated as well. But she wasn't in the dojo, she wasn't in the kitchen – where dishes had been piled high in the sink and garbage hadn't been thrown away properly – and she wasn't in the common room or in any of the bedrooms Kate was allowed to visit.

Mike was in his bedroom though, and he was playing a card game with Antonio. He didn't look very happy about that, and Kate figured he would prefer video games, but she could quickly assume –due to the bandaging around his head and the beat up look on his face – that he had received a concussion, at least, in her absence, and the flashing lights of the video game weren't good for his head.

"What the hell happened?" she approached the bed to get a closer look. She had only just met Mike, but he was important to Emily and therefore important to her as well. "What did you do this time?"

Antonio had tried to get Mike to talk earlier, but the green Ranger didn't say anything Antonio hadn't already figured out. Mike was hiding something; Antonio, and everyone else, wanted to know what.

"I didn't do anything," Mike shook his head, "Mia lost it."

Kate scoffed, "Well, no permanent damage. You're still the same old jokester…"

"He's not kidding," Antonio said. "It took three of us to rip Mia off of him."

"Seriously?" Kate asked and looked back and forth between the boys. They both nodded. "Alright, well, that brings me back to my second question: what did you do?"

"The women in this house are crazy," Mike said and then looked to Kate apologetically, "Uh, no offence."

"None taken. I don't actually live here. That still doesn't tell me how you ended up here, though."

"Mia just went crazy," Mike shrugged his shoulders.

Antonio decided he would jump in, "This happened right after you left. Something in Mia just snapped, but I guess it's about time it does. I was starting to wonder how much of all our shit she could take."

"That's still no excuse," Kate gently held Mike's face in her hand and inspected it, "She'll be doing your chores for months, at least. And she'll owe you an explanation. There's no doubt about that."

"There's also no reasoning with her right now," Antonio said, "Ji's punishment for violence is solitary confinement without luxuries. You probably noticed the new dojo bedroom for Kevin."

"That explains the mess," Kate nodded, assuming the Samurai had been busy moving and hadn't yet had time to clean up the house. "So how long is solitary?"

"Mia's time is undetermined," Mike said. "Which I'm glad for. I don't think anyone can blame me for being a little scared of her right now."

"I guess I'll talk to Ji about maybe getting a word with her."

"Wear armour," Mike said.

"On top of the Ranger suit," Antonio added.

"With a thick, well padded, sturdy helmet."

"And take something heavy in there with you. She is the wind Samurai. Who knows what kind of crazy winds she'll whip up."

"Guys," Kate shook her head, "Mia's a very reasonable young woman. I'm sure by tomorrow she'll have calmed down…"

Antonio and Mike exchanged looks before they burst out laughing. Kate sighed. It was obvious she had to have seen the fight, but given the extent of Mike's injuries; it must not have been pretty.

"What about the others?"

"Serena and James' room," Antonio said, "If you thought this room was depressing, don't go in there. Serena's a sobbing mess, and James must have just gotten Terran settled and asleep. He's been at it for hours."

Kate nodded her head. Just by the sound of things it seemed Serena needed her help. She still wasn't sure what had happened between Serena and Emily, but it had upset both girls, and in Serena's fragile state it was very, very likely it had crushed her to pieces. Wishing Mike a quick recovery, and telling him to rest up, Kate ran out of the room and down to the other side of the house. She opened the door to Serena's bedroom and it was also a mess. James was by Terran's crib, rocking a barely awake but still crying Terran while Serena was curled up in the middle of the room, wrapped tightly in blankets. Knowing James could get things with Terran under control; Kate rushed to Serena and pulled her into her arms. Serena fell into the hug, but wouldn't uncurl herself from her little ball.

"You're stronger than this, Serena," she whispered, "C'mon, sweetheart, calm down. You're okay."

"Emily yelled at her," James whispered from the crib. "She told her she owed her and she wanted her to shut up. Serena saw Serrator for a moment and hasn't stopped seeing him since. I got that much out of her, but I can't do anything to help until Terran settles."

Kate nodded her head. She pulled away from Serena to look at her, "Serrator can't get you here. We won't let him get you. You're home, you're safe."

"But he…"

"He did some nasty things," Kate said, knowing there was no denying that. She had seen exactly what Serrator had done to Serena, and how it affected her. There was no quick bounce back. Kate wasn't surprised at all by Serena's meltdown, "but he can't do them anymore."

"He is," Serena whispered. "I still feel it…"

"You're hurting yourself," Kate told her. "You're letting Serrator win, and you're letting him control you. You're not going to get anywhere, and you're not going to help anyone, especially yourself, if you don't toughen up. It hurts, you're scared, I understand, but we need Serena back. We need you to fight this."

Kate then pulled Serena back into her arms and hugged her close, "You're upsetting Terran now. He knows mommy's not happy and he wants to cheer you up. Why don't you give him a goodnight kiss, and then you can come with me. Ji and I will take care of you, and you can cry all night, but when morning comes, I want you back. Do we have a deal?"

"It's a good deal, Serena," James told her, "Take it."

Serena nodded and shakily got up. She walked to the crib and leaned over. She gave her son a smile and a kiss, told him she loved him and wished him a goodnight. Then James pulled her into his arms, told her he would come to check up on her in the morning and he told her he loved her.

Kate led Serena out of the room, leaving James alone with an almost asleep and finally settled Terran. He groaned loudly and rubbed his face with his hands as he walked to bed.

"Serrator's got to die, but I'll give him credit: he's good."


	4. New Day

Kate tried to make a normal morning for the residents of the Shiba House. While Ji cleaned up the kitchen and the common room and set a place for everyone to gather and eat breakfast as a little family, Kate cooked up a big breakfast and included foods that everyone who would be at the table liked. She also made a separate meal for Mia, who was still locked away in her room for attacking Mike, and she made a separate meal for Mike, who was stuck in his room because he had been attacked by Mia.

Everyone else, it was mandatory they showed up, and mandatory they had a good time. Serena needed it.

"Table is set," Ji announced. Kate smiled at him.

"Go wake up the boys and Serena," she pointed to two plates on the counter, which had already been made up. One was a simple piece of toast with butter with a glass of water for Mia, and the other was a big pancake breakfast for Mike. Ji took the plates to deliver while he went to the bedrooms and the dojo to get everyone up for the day.

First to come into the kitchen was Kevin, who saw the big breakfast that was being made for him and smiled, "What's the occasion?"

"It's Cheer-Up Day," Kate said and pointed to the table, indicating Kevin needed to take a seat, "We've been through a lot of shit and if we're going to get out of it, we need to start smiling a little more."

Kevin propped his head up with his hand and sighed, "Look, I know Mia deserves it, but I don't really feel like celebrating while she's locked up in her room…"

"I'll talk to her later," Kate promised, "We'll get that problem figured out soon, I promise. For now, I need you to smile so Serena feels better. You care about her too, don't you?"

"Of course."

"So, let me see that smile," Kate set a plate before Kevin just as Antonio and Jayden walked into the kitchen.

"Ooh, this smells good," Antonio grinned and quickly took a seat to start eating. Kate cleared her throat and gave him a firm shake of the head.

"Wait until everyone's at the table."

"But…" Antonio's grumbling stomach was saved as Ji returned to the kitchen with Serena, James, and Terran. They took their seats and Kate served them their plates. As soon as her butt touched her seat and she was ready to eat, Antonio dug in. He was starved.

James cut up Terran's food into tiny pieces for his little fingers and his little mouth, while at the same time looking over at Serena. She was still a little scared, he could see it in her eyes, but he could also see she was fighting that fear and doing her best to be strong, and be the Serena everyone knew before Serrator had gotten to her. When Serena noticed he was staring she looked over and he gave her a warm smile. She smiled back.

"I'll be okay," she promised him. She reached over, past Terran, and took James' hand in hers, "Thank you."

"I didn't do much," James shrugged.

"You do more than you think," she assured him. Then she let go of his hand, needing it to eat her food, "Just promise me something."

"I'll never go after another Nighlok by myself ever again."

Serena chuckled, "Smart man."

-Samurai-

Emily picked at the food on her plate. She appreciated Spike and his Uncle Bulk letting her stay at their place for the foreseeable future but she knew it wasn't showing. She was still miserable, she was still confused. She wanted to be home with her friends, her husband, and her sister, but she couldn't handle it anymore.

She had wandered the streets until she got into Spike's neighbourhood. She and Spike had a long history. She had known him for almost just as long as she had been in Panorama City. But, since he had found out about the yellow Ranger, and who the other Samurai were, she had been forced to keep her distance from him. It was for his safety, and so far it seemed to work. She had seen him a few times since, but they had been chance encounters, and not enough for Xandred, Serrator, or the Nighlok to think Spike or his Uncle had any real connections with the Samurai.

She had still chosen to stay at his place. She knew she would be able to talk to him about her problems. Though he was still a kid, younger than her, she knew he would do all he could to help her. He was a bit goofy, very strange, and sometimes awkward, but he had a good heart, and he had helped her many times before. Most of those times, he had barely even known her.

She knew Kate had followed her. Her aunt wasn't as subtle as she thought and so Emily had called her out to tell her what would be happening. She thought it was best the Samurai knew, if not they were likely going to track her down and drag her home so they knew she was safe, and that was the last thing Emily needed. She explained to Kate who Spike was and got permission from Bulk to stay at his home. Kate left, swearing she or one of the other Samurai would come to check up on her in a few days.

Later, Emily had seen Kevin and Jayden setting up a shield. Spike had seen it too, and was happy to know his house was Nighlok proof. It was a big concern for civilians, who had to constantly be on guard for Nighlok attacks, unsure what the monsters were planning or where they would strike next.

Bulk, however, was in the dark. He knew Emily was a friend of Spike's and she needed a place to stay for a while, but he had no idea of her Samurai duties.

Emily sighed and continued to pick at her food. She wasn't very hungry, and she was also scared she would have another bout of morning sickness. She had already been forced to lean over the toilet once since she got to Bulk and Spike's house. She didn't want to spend more time with their toilet than with them.

Spike was getting ready for school and rushing around the house in a mad dash to find all his books. He was somewhat unorganized and had left everything lying around the night before. On a normal day, Emily would have laughed, but today she wasn't up to it.

Eventually, Spike did find all his books and stuffed them into his bag, which he then set on the kitchen table.

"What are you going to do all day?" he asked Emily. "You know I'd stay with you but school's kind of important."

"I might watch TV," Emily shrugged and then looked over her shoulder, into the living room. Bulk was eating breakfast in front of the TV and it didn't seem like he was ready to leave any time soon, "Or, you know, something else."

"I promise, if you need to talk about anything, I'll do my homework over lunch and as soon as I get home so we can spend the night talking," Spike gave her a reassuring smile, "Whatever's bothering you, we'll figure it out, but you're going to have to talk to me about it."

Emily nodded her head. Spike had given her the chance to talk the night before, but Emily hadn't been ready to confess. Spike had made her promise she would open up once he got back from school, assuring her he could keep a secret and whatever she said would stay between them.

"I will."

"Okay, good. Try to take it easy," Spike said and then called for his uncle, letting him know he was headed off to school. Bulk jumped up and insisted he would drive Spike. He told Emily he would be home in ten minutes and to make herself comfortable. Emily gave a little smile. Despite his tough appearance, Bulk was a really nice man. She would have preferred it if Spike were home, but she had no objections to being left alone with Bulk.

When they were gone, Emily decided there was no way she was finishing breakfast and dumped it down the sink. Only then did her stomach grumble, clearly unhappy with her decision not to eat. Emily just settled for a banana that had been left on the counter. She picked it up and as she peeled it, she took a walk around the house. It wasn't a very big house, but she wanted to get familiar with it. While she stayed, she didn't want to intrude too much on Bulk and Spike, and would even offer to help them, if junior allowed it. She put her hand on her stomach as she walked down the hall, towards the back door.

"You couldn't have showed up a little later?" she whispered, "Like after we defeated Xandred? You're really not making my life easy."

Looking out to the backyard, she saw it was a nice space. There wasn't as much room as her house on the farm, or even the Shiba Yard, but it was a comfortable outdoor space. There was also a shed, maybe a garage at the back. Emily wasn't sure what it was.

Stepping outside, she decided to check it out. As she approached the door she noticed a sign had been posted.

"Dojo?" she read and chuckled, remembering what Spike had told her about being a Samurai in training. She had emailed him several times with a few tips on training techniques, but for the most part, Bulk and Spike had been left on their own. From the replies Emily got back from Spike about his progress, she could see he was nowhere near ready to be a Samurai, unless a Samurai Clown was needed to defeat one of the Nighlok. Still, they were passionate and determined, and it was something they loved to do together. Emily hadn't asked too many questions about Spike parents, but for now she knew he was staying with his uncle, who was acting as his guardian. It was nice, heartwarming even, to see they had something to do together that would bring them closer.

She opened the door to their "dojo" and had to let out a bit of a chuckle at their training equipment. For what it was, it was okay, but it was no wonder they weren't making any progress. She picked up one of their training swords and swung it around. She smashed it into a training dummy they had made themselves, but the sword snapped it half and the dummy crumbled.

"And Mike thinks I can't protect myself," Emily rolled her eyes. She knew it was just lousy equipment and started to collect the pieces of the training dummy, while at the same time she used a symbol to create a copy of the sword she had broken to replace it. Really, the sword wasn't worth much, but the least she could do was replace it.

She looked around the dojo and thought of the one back at the Shiba House. She thought of the training routine and put her hand on her stomach. She wasn't showing yet. In fact, aside from morning sickness and a little fatigue she didn't feel pregnant yet. Surely conception hadn't happened at the very moment she had gotten the test results back from the doctor, or even when she had seen the home pregnancy. She was positive she had trained with the others while pregnant and knew she could keep up for now. It wasn't like she had a stomach that was weighing her down just yet. She was still the same old Emily. She still wanted to fight. She still wanted to be a part of the team. Once she got bigger, she would understand sitting out the more dangerous fights, and once she was huge and constantly exhausted her new best friend would be the couch, but for now, she wanted to do what she could.

"I can teach you a thing or two," she heard a voice and turned around. Bulk was home, and when he noticed she wasn't in the house he came out to his dojo to find her. "I've been watching the Samurai Rangers for quite a while now. I've seen all the movies about Samurai. I'm what you would call an expert."

Emily tried not to laugh, not because she thought Bulk was wrong, but because he had no idea who he was talking to. It was sometimes annoying when regular people had no idea who she was, but it had its moments. She nodded her head, accepting his offer. It wasn't like he could unteach her what she already knew and she needed to have a bit of fun.

"I've always admired the yellow Ranger," she said. "Think you can show me a few moves so I can impress my husband?"

Bulk nodded his head, "Of course. But before we get started, I need you to know that this Samurai business is serious stuff. I am sensei and you will not question my orders. I know what I'm doing."

Emily smiled, "I'm committed, sensei. I'll work all day if I have to."

Bulk scratched the top of his head and looked around the room. As far as he knew, Emily was new to the Samurai lifestyle and he didn't know her very well. He couldn't push her like he pushed Spike, so he decided to try something easy, "Twenty push ups."


	5. Hate And Disappointment

She wasn't yet Serena the fierce, like Antonio had nicknamed her at breakfast, but she was climbing her way back up to that title. She had joined the boys for training and had showed off her newfound strength with her Symbol Power. Now that she was back in control of how much power she used, and what she used it for she found she was even better than what Serrator had seen. She could pace herself, she could plan out her symbols, and that made a huge difference on just how powerful and how controlled they were. In a matter of minutes, she had built a small house of stone in the middle of the dojo, big enough for Storm and Terran to play in together. Normally, a job like that, done well, would have taken her at least an hour, possibly two. Carving out the stones so they fit together, and placing them one of top of the other so they wouldn't fall over was a difficult task, but she had now managed it. As she watched her son and dog play in their new little fort, James put his hand on her shoulder.

"Serrator's not going to know what hit him next time he comes face to face with you."

Serena felt a shiver travel up and down her spine. She still wasn't ready to face Serrator. She knew, the moment she saw him, she would freeze up. All he had to do was say the word and she would be his again. James sensed her unease and hugged her, "Only when you're ready."

Serena nodded. She felt a little better knowing she wouldn't be forced to face Serrator, but she knew things didn't always work out that way. She couldn't sit by if Serrator came after the Samurai. She couldn't sit by if he chose to go after Emily, or James, or Terran. There was no rush from her friends, but she couldn't take her time and hide from Serrator.

"For now, it's probably best if we focus on bringing the team back together," James said to everyone as he called them round, ending the physical training part of their morning routine. The house was a mess when it came to the Samurai. Mia was still angry, Mike was laid up in bed, Serena was terrified, and Emily wasn't even home.

James knew what to work on first. The biggest problem was whatever issue existed between Mike and Emily. Though it wouldn't help Serena's problem, having Emily back home would be a comfort. Emily could also talk Mia down. It would also be easier to solve the problem between Mike and Emily if they were both home.

"Emily needs to come back."

Antonio lifted his hand in the air, "Uh, for Emily to come back, we would need to know what chased her away."

James nodded. Antonio had a good point. Unfortunately, he couldn't work that way. Mike didn't seem to want to talk, and approaching Mia was dangerous, as Kate had found out when a hurricane had chased her out of the room (a terrifying, yet hilarious sight for those watching). They would have to get Emily home first, no matter what it meant.

"I'll go talk to her," Serena said, "She's been through a lot, and when she snapped, I kind of made it obvious I was scared. She said she needs me and I ran away from her. I've got a lot to apologize for."

"Me too," Kate nodded. "I don't think I've really apologized for… well, you know."

Serena lowered her head in shame. She knew Emily had forgiven her but Serena didn't feel like she had done enough yet. She had tortured her sister. A sobbing apology wouldn't undo the harm she had done.

"You two can go talk to her, then," James said. He was playing by ear, but he didn't see anything wrong with Serena and Kate visiting Emily. He hoped this wouldn't blow up in his face. Serena and Kate would either be exactly what Emily needed, or the very thing that set her off again.

"We'll go think of what we want to say before we see her," Kate said and guided Serena from the room, "Hopefully we can get an idea of what might be bothering her before we see her."

-Samurai-

Emily found she loved training with Bulk. He was nowhere near as intense as Ji or Jayden, though he thought he was tough, but he did have some good workout ideas. They were simple for Emily, really very basic, but it was great to clear her head and get her focused on something other than the lives she had just royally screwed up. Before she knew it, the day had gone by and Spike was back home. She was cleaning up the dojo when he walked in and Bulk announced he would get started on dinner.

"Homework's all done, as promised," Spike said and then saw Emily with a smirk on her face, "Uh, you seem happy."

"You call this a dojo?" she teased him and gestured around. Spike blushed. This was really embarrassing.

"We're not all born Samurai, you know," Spike set his bag down and pointed to the couch, inviting her to take a seat, "Besides, we have something else to talk about."

Emily sighed. She had thought long and hard about this and she knew what needed to be done. It wasn't necessarily what she wanted to do, but for her unborn child's sake, and the sake of her marriage, she needed to do it. She sat down beside Spike and showed him her wedding ring.

"No way!"

"It's been a couple months now," Emily smiled brightly. "It wasn't a big fancy wedding. Just a little gathering with friends and family, but it was perfect."

"Congratulations," Spike reached out and hugged her. Emily returned to gesture and then shook her head.

"It's not really a time for celebrating. We're Samurai Rangers, the trouble never stops. We're married but…"

"I guess you are here for a reason," Spike had a look around. She wouldn't have been here with him if everything was okay.

Emily sighed and lowered her shirt, exposing her shoulder and her scar. Spike read it and frowned.

"Serrator? Who is that?"

"You know that insanely powerful new monster who always has a creepy grin on his face?"

"With the long white hair and a cocky attitude?"

"He's Serrator."

"Why is his name on your shoulder? Did he hurt you?"

"Well, yeah, but he didn't do this," Emily said. "Serena did."

"Your sister?"

"My sister and my Aunt. Serrator kidnapped Serena, and so we could get her back, my aunt volunteered to go work for Serrator. Her mission to prove her loyalty to him was to, well…"

Spike had a look of nothing but horror in his eyes. He knew being a hero was tough, but he never imagined this. He took Emily's hand to comfort her, but she was the one who gave him the comforting squeeze.

"It's okay, Spike. Serena's home and I know she didn't like doing this. It was a survival thing. That's not my problem."

"So there's more?"

Emily nodded her head and started to tremble nervously. She gulped, "While she was gone, I started throwing up. I didn't remember eating anything funny, and I didn't think I was sick. I left the bathroom, saw the calendar on my wall, realized it was empty and…"

"Empty?"

"You know how every month the girls at your school get kind of snippy and depressing?"

"Yeah… oh, yeah."

"With everything going on, I kind of forgot about that and had no idea I was late and…"

"Oh!" Spike's eyes widened in horror and disgust. Emily somewhat regretting telling him, but there was no going back now.

"I'm pregnant, Spike," she said. "The test confirmed it and we went to the doctor and…"

"La, la, la, la…"

"Spike!" Emily grabbed his arms and pulled his fingers out of his ears, "C'mon, don't be such a boy! I really need your help."

"My help? What can I do?" Spike asked. He shook his head, "Do the Samurai know?"

"Mike does, obviously, but I don't want to tell the others," Emily pulled her knees to her chest, "I'm scared of what they'll do. I know I've let them down. I've put them in so much danger; I've put the baby in so much danger. What do I do?"

"I don't know," Spike shrugged, more than a little uncomfortable with the topic. He had never had a girlfriend before. The thought of a baby had never crossed his mind. He had no idea how to help someone else in this… problem, never mind a Samurai Ranger. But he did know one thing, "You have to tell the others."

"Spike, they'll bench me for sure! We'll be down a Ranger. They could get hurt."

"They risk getting hurt all the time anyways. It's not like you're always running around taking hits for them, right? You're not a shield."

"Exactly. I'm not a shield. I can fight. I have to fight! There's a yellow Ranger for a reason, right?"

Spike shook his head, "I don't know. All I do is collect the action figures," he pointed to a shelf on the wall where toy Rangers were on display. "You guys come up with the strategies and the awesome moves and stuff."

"This is exactly what I'm scared of," Emily rested her head on her knees, "What if the others think like you? What if they think I'm fragile and I need to be protected? I've spent almost my entire time here trying to prove I'm just as good as them. I've wanted to prove it to myself that I can be a part of the team – a helpful part. Now, not only am I useless, I'm a liability. I'm stupid, stupid, stupid…"

"Emily, stop it," Spike grabbed her hand, which she had been using to smack herself in the forehead. "You're not stupid, okay? I may not know much about the whole pregnancy thing and what to do about it, but I do know it takes two. You didn't get yourself pregnant. This is Mike's fault too."

"So? He's not pregnant! He gets to be the dad and the husband. His life isn't changing."

"It kind of is."

"He's the green Ranger!" Emily cried. Spike could see she was getting very upset. "He can still go out and fight with the others, defend the world, be the hero. I'm the idiot who got pregnant, who abandoned her team. I'm the kid with the kid! They're all going to hate me!"

"Emily…"

"They're all going to be disappointed in me!"

"Emily…"

"Someone's going to get hurt! My friends, my sister, my husband, my kid… I'm a horrible person! They'll hate me; my parents will hate me…"

"I don't hate you," Spike pulled her into his arms. He was really in over his head, but a hug never hurt anyone crying. "You're still a hero to me."

There was a knock on the door of the dojo just before it opened and Bulk walked in.

"Emily, you have visitors," he said and then stepped out of the way. Emily looked up and saw Serena and Kate had come to check up on her. Serena was exactly who she needed to see, but at the same time, Emily was no longer ready to come face to face with her sister, knowing what her sister would say and how she would react once the truth came out. She pulled away from Spike's arms and bolted out of the dojo, back inside the house and up the stairs. Serena and Kate were about to go after her when Spike called their attention.

"She needs a lot of help," he said.

"Do you have any idea what's going on with her?" Serena asked. Spike nodded his head and he wanted to say it, but it wasn't his place.

"You guys will never hate her, right?"

"If I was going to hate her, I would have started a long, long time ago," Serena said. "What's up, Spike?"

"She really should tell you," Spike looked down at his shoes, "Uh… I have homework to do."

He couldn't get out of the dojo fast enough. When he was gone, Serena and Kate looked to Bulk. He said he had spent most of the day with Emily, training her to be a Samurai. They hoped, prayed, he knew what was going on with their little yellow.

He shrugged his shoulders, "She was fine when I had her."

Serena and Kate sighed loudly and then started for the house, hoping to find Emily and get an answer out of her soon. At the very least, they wanted her back home.


	6. The Reveal

There had been no noise from the bedroom for hours. Kevin decide to go in to check up on Mia.

Well, really, he wanted to make sure her acts of rage hadn't gotten her killed. He knocked on the door and then entered, finding Mia lying face down on the mat that had been left for her. He sat down beside her and put his hand on her back.

"Must have felt good, beating the shit out of Mike like that," he said jokingly. Mia shook her head.

"It didn't. And it didn't do any good."

"Are you back?"

Mia nodded her head and lifted herself up from the mat. She wrapped her arms around Kevin and hugged him tight, "I'm so humiliated."

"I won't say you shouldn't be," Kevin shrugged as he held her, "but you know we love you all the same, right? Well, now we all love you a little more out of fear, but you won't know the difference."

"How is Mike?"

"He's fine," Kevin said. He pulled away from Mia and looked her in the eyes, "How are you? What happened?"

"I just got so pissed off," Mia shrugged, "With what was happening with Serena, and then finding Emily on the floor sobbing… I didn't know what to do. I was heartbroken and… I needed to do something, you know."

"You were heartbroken?"

"They're my sisters, Kevin, and I have no idea how to help them," Mia looked down at her hands, "Somehow, I made it all fall on Mike and… well, you know what happens then."

"Why don't you ever attack the Nighlok like that?"

"It's not funny, Kevin!" Mia cried and pulled further away from him. She lowered her head again. Kevin couldn't bear to see her so hurt. He knew she had no one to blame but herself, and there was no excuse for her actions, but the Mia he had seen then wasn't the Mia he knew. It wasn't who she really was.

He got up and walked around so he was standing before her. He held his hand out, offering her help to her feet. Mia took it and he walked her out of the room and down to Mike's room.

Mike, naturally, was somewhat startled by Mia's appearance.

"She won't bite," Kevin promised. Mike shook his head.

"Yeah, it's not biting I'm worried about."

Kevin had Mia take a seat beside the bed, "I'll play mediator, for Mike's sake. Mia, I know you want to apologize."

"Does it hurt?" Mia asked Mike as she stared at the bandaging around his head. Mike rolled his eyes up to try and get a look, but he couldn't see anything, of course.

"Yeah, a lot."

Tears welled up in Mia's eyes, "I'm so sorry."

"So why did you do it?"

Mia shrugged her shoulders, "It was stupid."

"It was Emily, wasn't it? You were with her right before you attacked me."

"What's going on between the two of you?" Mia asked. "She's sick. You're usually always by her side, especially when she's sick, and now you're nowhere to be seen. She's crying, inconsolable, yelling at Serena, scaring her, scaring herself and you're just…"

"It's complicated."

"I guess that's still not an excuse for what I did. I'm sorry, Mike. I'm really, really sorry…"

"Yeah, I know," Mike smirked and shrugged his shoulders, "I guess you and I aren't that different after all. It takes a lot more bend before you snap, but in the end we've both got a thing for violence."

"You're not making me feel any better."

"I'm not really trying to."

"Look, you two," Kevin stepped in, "This house is already a huge mess as is. Do you think, maybe, you two can put this aside, just this once, and we can maybe focus on the real problem? You know, the one that led to this?"

"Put this aside?" Mike asked. He pointed to his head, "I have a dent in the shape of the engagement ring you bought her…"

"I'm not asking you two to hug and make up, but can you at least be civil? We're trying to get Emily to come home, and I'm sure she's not going to want to stay in a house where her best friend and her husband are constantly fighting and her sister's a kicked puppy. For her sake, and all our sakes, can we just put this on the back burner."

"Mia still owes me," Mike crossed his arms over his chest, "And I'll make sure the revenge is humiliating."

"I'm already humiliated," Mia muttered.

Mike shrugged, "Yeah, but I'm not the cause of that humiliation. You owe me the equivalent of a beating. Accept that and I'll forgive you."

Mia nodded her head. She did owe Mike for the beating. He hadn't deserved it. Even if he had done something, she had crossed the line.

"I'm going to drive you bat-shit crazy," Mike grinned.

Kevin put his hand on Mia's shoulder, "Why don't you go talk to Ji. I'm sure if he sees you're back to normal and ready to apologize he'll end the punishment."

Mia nodded and left the room. When she was gone, Kevin looked to Mike, "Have fun with this, but remember you are messing with the woman who kicked your ass. You, of all people, should know what happens if you poke a bear."

"I've got a plan," Mike assured Kevin, "Don't worry; I won't get Mia in anymore trouble."

"Yeah, Mia's not who I'm talking about," Kevin chuckled. "Good luck, Mike."

-Samurai-

Emily hid out in Spike's room, hoping Serena and Kate wouldn't find her and they would leave. More than that, she wanted the world to stop. There was no undoing what she had done, and no making it right. There was nothing she could do, nothing she wanted to do, that would delay the baby growing inside of her. It, he, she, whatever the baby was or would be, was on the way and there was nothing Emily could do about it.

There was also nothing she could do about the Nighlok. Unless Xandred and every single Nighlok still alive in the Netherworld suddenly dropped dead, they were a problem. A problem Emily felt she needed to help her friends tackle. Since Serena had gotten sick, Emily had dedicated her life to taking her place, to earning the right to wear the yellow spandex, and to fighting as hard as she could to make Serena proud, to keep her friends safe, and to protect the world.

"Emy?" the door suddenly opened. Emily ducked behind Spike's bed and hoped Serena and Kate hadn't seen her. She hugged her knees to her chest, lowered her head, and tried to keep her sobs to herself. Kate and Serena wouldn't leave though and they walked in to search the room. They must have gotten permission from Spike to do so, though they didn't need to do a throughout search. Serena sat down beside Emily as soon as she found her behind the bed and she wrapped her arms around her little sister, "I hate to see you so upset, you know that, right?"

"Please go away," Emily tried to leave but Serena wouldn't let her go.

"I love you. Whatever's going on between you and Mike, we'll tackle it together, I promise."

"It's none of your business."

"Okay," Serena smiled. "If you don't want to talk about it, that's okay, but I want you to think about coming home. I don't think you hear it often enough, but I need you."

"No you don't," Emily sniffed and wiped her nose on her sleeve. "I want to be alone. I came here for a reason."

"And we came to get you for a reason…"

"You don't know!" Emily shouted. She pressed her hands against the side of her head, "Now you're going to start making promises about how much you love me and you want me home and we'll make everything better and we'll be happy again. You'll say things will go back to normal but they won't! You have no idea!"

"Emily, whatever's going on we can help," Kate promised. Emily shook her head and cried out in frustration.

"Don't make promises you can't keep!" she screamed.

There was a knock at the door, "Is everything okay?" Bulk asked. He could hear the shouting from the kitchen downstairs.

"We're really sorry," Kate told him. As Serena tried to get Emily up on her feet to walk her out of the house, Kate thanked Bulk for letting Emily stay the night, insisting it wasn't something he needed to do, but that the gesture was very much appreciated.

Bulk looked back and forth between Kate and the sisters, seeing Emily was so distressed, and had been since they had shown up, "Look, I don't mind if she stays another night. Tomorrow I was going to teach her all about the Samurai lifestyle. We barely touched on it today."

"She needs to come home," Serena said and looked down at Emily, hoping she could quickly find a way to dry her sister's tears, "Everyone wants to see you come back home. Storm did this really freaky thing after breakfast where she sat on the coffee table and starting… whining or singing or something. It was weird and she wouldn't shut up for half an hour."

"Storm is Emily's dog," Kate explained to Bulk and then shook her head, "That really doesn't make it any less weird, does it?"

"Not really, but I've seen weirder," Bulk shrugged.

Serena pulled Emily into her arms, "I love you, Emy. You should know that…"

Emily gagged, her face turned green and she raced out the door to the nearest bathroom. Her lunch and everything else inside her stomach came pouring out of her mouth. Serena, Kate, and even Bulk, followed her to the bathroom. While Bulk stood in the hallway, and Kate stood by the door, Serena dropped to Emily's side and pulled her hair back.

"Emily…"

"Three guesses. If you don't get it, I won't tell you," Emily muttered.

Serena took a deep breath, "The flu?"

"Nope," Emily heaved into the toilet.

"Food poisoning?"

"Nope," Emily shook her head. Bulk crossed his arms over his chest. His cooking was just fine.

Serena rubbed her sister's back and waited for the sickness to pass. When she was sure Emily was done she pulled her little sister into her arms and held her, "You're pregnant?" she whispered so neither Kate nor Bulk could hear her. Emily nodded her head.

"I'm so sorry."

Serena sighed and kissed her cheek, "Emy, I'm sorry," tears instantly flooded her eyes and poured down her cheeks. She buried her face in her sister's shoulder, only to be reminded of the scar that still and forever would exist. "Oh, God, Emily, I'm so, so sorry."


	7. A New Place

There was a booming silence in the Shiba House common room. Everyone was floored. They sat in their seats, most wishing to sink into the cushions and disappear forever.

"When…?" Kevin finally managed to ask, and he managed to keep his lunch down. "How…?"

"I am extremely disappointed," Ji announced as he got up and started for the door.

"Mentor…"

"You have a responsibility!" Ji turned around and shouted at Emily, "A responsibility to your families, to each other, and to the world. I expected so much more from you. From both of you!"

"Ji…" Kate reached out to take his hand, hoping to calm him down, but Ji was furious. He pulled away from Kate and continued to yell at Emily.

"Do you have any idea the consequences this will carry for not just yourselves, but for the entire team? As it stands right now, Serena's unable to fight. Mike, you're still injured..."

"Dude, that's not my fault!" Mike shouted and pointed his finger at Mia, "She beat me up!"

"To be fair," Kevin muttered, "She beat you up, technically, because of all this. Because Emily's pregnant…"

"Because we're pregnant," Mike wrapped his arms around his wife. For the first time, Emily was taking the hit, not him. The baby was growing inside her stomach so most of the blame was shifted over to her.

"And because of that, we are down three Rangers. Three out of seven Rangers," Ji grabbed his head; unable to process everything he was being told. His Rangers were pregnant. One of his Samurai, whom went out to fight evil on a regular basis, was now carrying an innocent baby. The risk of danger had just multiplied for future generations of Samurai, for the current team, for the entire planet. One Ranger down was enough to weaken the team, but with Serena still terrified of Serrator, Mike still recovering from his concussion, and Emily pregnant, Ji was looking at a team of four. That was even below where the Rangers had started. The Samurai had always been a team of five.

"Mike will recover," Serena promised, "And I'll get better to, I…"

"We will still be down a very important Ranger!" Ji cried, "How the hell am I supposed to make a team work without a yellow Ranger? Without the Ape? Emily is…"

"We can talk to the Ape! She knows what's best for the team! That's why she picked Emily in the first place!"

"And look where that's led us!" Ji shouted. "She's useless!"

"JI!" everyone in the room cried. Emily pulled away from Mike and rushed out to the yard. Ji took his head in his hands again but when he heard a sigh he looked up. Everyone was gone but Jayden.

"That was out of line," Jayden shook his head, "You're supposed to be their mentor, Ji."

"She screwed up, Jayden."

"So then mentor her through it! Mentor all of us through it!"

"Jayden…"

"I'm disappointed in you, Ji," Jayden shook his head. "I thought you knew better."

"She's putting you in danger. All of you! You'll be risking your lives trying to protect her mistakes!"

"At least we know who we're protecting," Jayden scoffed, "Or have you forgotten the lie we're telling the Rangers? Have you forgotten they have no idea I'm not the man they think I am."

"Jayden…"

"I'd die for this team. I'd die for their friends. I'll die for that baby if I have to. The baby is who I've been fighting for all along. It's a little early, just like Terran…"

"Terran was different. Serena wasn't a Ranger!"

"We have a problem and we'll fix it," Jayden said, "Just like all our problems before. End of discussion."

"But, Jayden…"

"End of discussion!" Jayden shouted and slammed the door as he walked out into the yard. Ji had brought up a few good points about the problems the pregnancy would cause for the team, but yelling at Emily wasn't going to solve any of them.

-Samurai-

Mia sat down on the outside bench, beside Emily, and held out her flute. Emily looked down at it, and then turned away.

"I know you hate me."

"A little bit," Mia nodded her head. Emily heard footsteps in the grass, and it sounded like everyone had come outside to talk to her. She pulled her knees to her chest, wondering if they understood she needed to be alone. "I've had two pregnancy scares, and they've more than lived up to their name. I was terrified. The timing back then, the first time around, was terrible. I have no idea what's going through your head now."

"But you're not pregnant."

"But I almost was," Mia said, "I got lucky. I got very lucky. I also realized how stupid we had been."

"I'm stupid," Emily sighed, "I'm stupid and useless… does anyone want to add anything else?"

Antonio walked over to the bench and knelt before Emily, "We're not happy with this, but Ji was wrong. You're not useless. You've never been useless. You're our yellow Ranger. You're our little miss sunshine."

Emily rolled her eyes, "I'm sorry I've let you all down but…"

"But can you at least listen to us?" Kevin asked her. He gently pulled her up from the bench, forcing her to stand and look up at him, "We don't want to lose this baby, but we also don't want this baby to be the death of…"

"Everything?"

"The team."

"Everything," Emily insisted with a nod of her head.

Kevin sighed, "Look, battling in your condition is dangerous. I think that's something we can all agree on. If Antonio can, we'll reprogram the white Samuraizer to suit your needs, and Serena can take over your role as…"

"Why do I have to lose my colour?" Emily asked and looked around. Everyone, even Mike, seemed to agree with Kevin. She looked to her husband in particular, "I said…"

"We had a little pow-wow," Mike shrugged, "Em, this is the best solution. You'll be benched, but if we need you…"

"I can reprogram the Samuraizer to offer a little more protection where you need it most," Antonio said. "I mean, it won't work for the full nine months, but it'll extend your time as back-up."

"But Serena wasn't supposed to be yellow. The Ape picked me…"

"I'll work on my relationship with the ape Zord, and I'm sure she'll understand…"

"You're not yellow!" Emily screamed. "You were never meant to be yellow! You're the white Ranger! You're supposed to stay white! You can't take my place!"

"Emily…"

"And what if something happens to you? I'm not around, you're all bigger targets! Terran's going to lose his mother so my baby can keep his? That's not fair!"

"You let us worry about Terran," James said. "Serena will do fine as yellow. She'll make _you_ proud."

"I don't want her to make me proud!" Emily shouted, "I don't want this to change the team!"

"You're pregnant, Emily," Jayden announced as he stepped out of the house after his talk with Ji, "Whether you like it or not, things are going to change, and that's starting with the team dynamic. I think we're all in agreement, we don't want anything to happen to the baby."

"No," Emily shook her head and took a step back, terrified of what would come next. Jayden walked up to her and held out his hand.

"You are not useless," he told her, "We will find another job for you on the team; one that will be as helpful and fulfilling as the yellow Ranger. However…"

"No," Emily took another step back and looked over at Mike. He lowered his head, catching a look at his shoes. He knew she hated this. It had been everything she didn't want, but it was best for baby.

"Samuraizer, please," Jayden asked her.

Emily shook her head, "No, please Jayden. I… I can do this. I'll make it work, I'll…"

"I'm so sorry, Emily," seeing she wouldn't hand over the Samuraizer willingly, Jayden had to take it. He had to wrestle with her, gently, but got the device from her pocket and passed it over to Serena. With the yellow Samuraizer in hand, Serena gave up her white one to Antonio.

"I'll reprogram it," he told Emily, "but it'll be for emergencies only. Big emergencies. Dead if you don't, emergencies."

"I'll teach you a few training exercises," Serena told her sister, "They'll be safe for baby, and they'll help you should you ever find yourself face to face with a Nighlok and no one around to help."

"But I…"

"You have a baby, Emily. Baby's safety comes first," Mia wrapped her arms around Emily's shoulders, "We've all agreed on that."

She gave her little sister a kiss on the cheek and then walked inside to help Antonio with the programming. She knew a little more than he did about pregnant women, and would be able to tell him where Emily would need protection the most – in case of emergencies.

"Emily," Mike put his hand on her arm. She shoved him away.

"Please go away."

"It's for you and baby," he told her. "This is my mistake. We talked about this. I'll be damned if my mistakes costs me you and our baby. I'm sorry."

"Just go away," Emily dropped to her knees. "Everyone go away."

"C'mon, guys," Kevin said as he walked back to the house, with the Samurai in tow, "Let's give her a minute."

James watched the Samurai leave and then looked down at Emily. He could, on some level, understand how hard this was for her. He knew it wasn't easy sitting on the sidelines.

"You know, Em…"

"I said go away."

"You can help a lot from the house. Eyes in the sky, first aid, encouragement… We're a very valuable part of the team. Without us…"

"Then please explain why you felt you needed to fight Serrator to protect Serena," Emily looked up at him. James sighed. He didn't really have an answer for that. She caught him. "Go away."

James turned his back to her and took a few steps towards the door and then he shook his head and took a seat in the grass. Emily gave him a stare that terrified him, but he didn't move.

"Think about it, Emily. Would you rather the team reshuffle, or would you rather be out there with them knowing what they know? Sure, you won't be there help them, but they'll be taking hits meant for them, not for you. Not for baby."

Emily looked down at her hands, "I don't want anyone to get hurt."

"Neither do we. I know how bad you want to be out there, but… this is for the best. I know you know that. We can figure out all that first aid stuff and when the Rangers come back from a fight, you can play nurse. You can make sure they're strong enough to head back out when duty calls again. And you can just be you, you can lift their spirits. You're great at that."

"Spirits aren't very high right now," Emily muttered. James crawled over to her. He took her hands in his.

"Emily, I promise, everything's going to work out. Everyone's going to be safe. Baby most of all."

"What if Xandred comes back? What if Serrator goes after Serena again? What if Dekker and Dayu…?"

"You will be right where you need to be," James promised her. "You've disappointed us all, Emily. You and Mike both, but you haven't let us down yet. You can still make it right."


End file.
